In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia

In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia is a 1974 book by James Morton, published by J. J. Douglas. It discusses the politics and provides historical details on the Chinese presence in British Columbia from 1858 until the early 1970s. In particular it addresses the non-Chinese British Columbia community's belief that the Chinese were a "problem" that needed to be dealt with. William Willmott of the University of Canterbury wrote that "it is evident from the nature of his source material that Dr. Morton did not set out to write a book about the Chinese in British Columbia, but only about white reactions to them."
Background
The title originates from a comment towards the province in an 1874 speech by Edward Blake, a member of the Parliament of Canada from South Bruce, Ontario. He called British Columbia "an inhospitable country, a sea of sterile mountains."
The author is not a historian. spanning over 100 years. Newspapers represented include the British Columbian, Cariboo Sentinel, Colonist, Gazette, Herald, and News.
Contents
The book includes 10 chapters, sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs in two sets, and a listing of key dates from 1843-1967, labeled "chronology." Morton criticized Sir Wilfred Laurier's preferential treatment of Japanese persons. Beardsley wrote "Morton is not afraid to pinpoint those most responsible for fanning the flames of prejudice."
Reception
Beardsley stated "Morton has documented it well by means of the newspapers of the time."<ref name=Beardsleyp23/>
Willmott wrote that the book "sorely" lacked "scholarly judgment" and that it is "disappointingly limited" in terms of being a reference book.<ref name=Willmottp136/>
Robert L. Worden, the author of a book review written for The Journal of Asian Studies, wrote that despite some issues with methodology and minor errors, "Morton's book is a good presentation of how British Columbians reacted to the Chinese".<ref name=Wordenp348/> In regards to the methodology Worden argued that the first half of the book was "objective" and "reasonably well-documented" but that by the second half the author "seems to have been influenced by the same nine-teenth-century standards he weakly tries to justify".<ref name=Wordenp348/> Worden also criticized the lack of "adequate expression of the Chinese view of their outcast position" by saying that it relied too much on Canadian newspaper articles.<ref name=Wordenp348/>
Scott criticized the lack of footnotes, the sourcing methodology, "explicit dialogue with previous texts," and the sourcing itself; Scott asserted that therefore "the conclusions drawn consequently appear unreliable."<ref name=Scottp75/> Scott stated that the book's efforts to get "an international scope through loose connections between British Columbia, California and Australia" were positive and that Morton "tries to recognize the shortcomings of his own text".<ref name=Scottp76/> She concluded that "Although this text is outdated in many respects, the fact that it confronts discrimination toward the Chinese is testimony to an increasingly liberal climate of opinion."<ref name=Scottp76/>

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